A MASSIVE week for new albums this week, with so many huge bands and artists dropping new music this weekend. Let’s dive right in!

Halestorm: Everest

The sixth studio album from the hard rock quartet dropped last Friday with a lot of hype surrounding it. I’d somehow managed to miss the singles so far, so was shielded from how dark, weird and ultimately SLOW this release is. It’s wild to me that they open the album on maybe the heaviest, fastest and best riff they’ve ever done, and then the chorus utterly ruins the energy and song. At times it’s hard to believe this is the same band that wrote ‘Love Bites’ and ‘Uncomfortable’. All attitude, swagger and actual rock feels stripped away, and it feels like a band just trying to write big arena choruses for maximum radio play. It really is ballad after ballad. I never thought I’d say this but I actually miss hyper-sexual Lzzy, this constantly love song version isn’t the one. A lot of it feels disjointed, and honestly the only song I felt was a highlight was ‘Rain Your Blood On Me’. I really want to like this, and it’s not exactly bad, but not at all what I want from my Halestorm, unfortunately. It all seemed forgettable; blurring together and nothing really sticking with me. If you like it, that’s amazing, and I’m sure a good few people will, but this isn’t for me. 5/10

Charlotte: As a longtime Halestorm fan, I could instantly see the shift in the band’s direction with their new release ‘Everest’. There’s something about the album as a whole that stands out amongst the rest – it’s the dramatic extreme between melodic and heavy grit, both instrumentally and vocally. One second I’m hearing soft and soothing, the next I’m hearing anthemic and electric. And whilst this isn’t irregular of Halestorm, to hear and feel five different moods in one song is.

One thing is for sure, Everest feels more dark. It’s eerie. It’s mournful. It’s raw. It’s broody. It’s apocalyptic. It’s almost purposely unsettling – is that their point? To take us on a literal rollercoaster journey? Are Halestorm fighting against the need to have a “vibe” for the album like many artists do? It’s unfamiliar and unexpected to us all. After the success of ‘Back From The Dead’ I was anticipating a similar heavy album. And the album artwork for ‘Everest’ only developed this feeling further.

Halestorm are fearless and will always be unapologetically themselves. ‘Everest’ is a bold, captivating album that takes you through twists and turns of emotions – never letting you feel settled for long. It’s ferocious and shapeshifts before your eyes, or ears, I should say. It might take some time for fans to get their head around a change in direction for this album, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear arenas chant the lyrics to Rain Your Blood On Me this winter. 8/10

Good Charlotte: Motel Du Cap

The first album from the generational pop-punkers in seven years has a lot of hype and build to live up to. I have to say I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a full album (never ‘got it’ as a child, I’m sorry!), just the big three or four hits that Kerrang! had on all the time. So, I have no point in comparison when it comes to the overall quality of the album. And, having said that, this is… fine? It’s exactly what I’d expect from a Good Charlotte album, which is both good and bad for their eighth release. Singing the same cringy emo vocals when you’re pushing 50 is a bit much, and not evolving your sound after 30 years of a band is rather wild. But, having said that, with me not being hugely familiar with their work, it’s still good Good Charlotte. Songs like ‘Stepper’, ‘Mean’ and ‘Bodies’ are all great. Plus, there are a good few tracks featuring guest artists, all of which knock it out of the park and fit the sound perfectly, definitely leaning more towards the pop side of their genre. Luke Borchelt’s powerful, soulful vocals on ‘Deserve You’ in particular are another big album highlight.

So, for my first full Good Charlotte album, it’s not bad. It’s slow overall, but surprisingly beautiful, and it made the rockier songs hit harder as a result. If you’re a fan of the band, you’ll probably love this. While I won’t necessarily revisit the release as a whole often, there are certainly some tracks that I’ll be spinning a lot for the rest of summer. 7/10

Charley Crockett: Dollar a Day

One of the hardest working men in country is back with his second album of the year, and 15th overall. And, while we still enjoyed Lonesome Drifter, this one sadly didn’t do a great deal for me. Songs like ‘Ain’t That Right’ and ‘Tennessee Quick Cash’ are great. However, there is a lot that sounds pretty similar, and have definitely been done before, not just by Charley but for the last 70+ years. It’s not bad by any stretch, and is nice nostalgia still for the ‘good old days’ of country. He’s a fantastic true neo-traditional country/Americana artist, but it’s sadly nothing new, I’ve heard it all before, and better. If you like the style I’m sure you’ll enjoy this, and it’s certainly not bad, but it’s not something I’ll be coming back to often! I sadly think I’m getting a touch bored of his style, as neither this or his last live up to $10 Cowboy. I can’t give it any more than a 6/10, I’m afraid.

BABYMETAL: METAL FORTH

The collab-heavy fifth studio album from the J-metal trio is an interesting one, for sure. 7/10 tracks feature some of the biggest names in modern metal (and Tom Morello) and, while cool, it does feel a touch cheep. While cool, it feels more like a way to get more eyes on the release and more streams, as opposed to having fun with their friends and peers. It arguably would have come across more genuine if it was all collab tracks. Heck, ‘Song 3’ came out on both this and Slaughter to Prevail’s album within weeks of each other, which is super weird.

Having said that, it’s still a pretty decent album. ‘RATATATA’ is one of the biggest and best songs in metal the last few years, and any album with Tim Henson playing is automatically better. And I have to applaud BABYMETAL for their ability to shift their sound; every track featuring someone sounds more like that artist than them. But that might also be why the album feels disjointed. It doesn’t feel like a BABYMETAL album, and makes the three tracks that are just them stick out like a sore thumb, and makes them instantly album-tracks. It’s a shame too, as ‘KxAxWxAxIxI’ is actually a really interesting electro-infused track and a big highlight of the album. The other two are pretty good too, and I’d arguably rather have taken a full album of that style over some songs that have been floating around for a couple of years, now.

As I’ve said, it’s certainly not a bad album. There are so many great songs on here. However, it feels more like a disc you’d get out of a magazine back in the day than an actual BABYMETAL album. It’s good and a lot of fun, but not quite the truly amazing album I genuinely think the band have in them to truly take them up to the top. It may grow on me more with more listens, but for now it gets an 8/10

Dropout Kings: Yokai

This is a bittersweet one. The rap metal Arazonans lost their vocalist to suicide back in May, after having already completed his parts of the album, so it was released in his memory. It is, at least, a fantastic album, though. ‘Black Sheep’ is an amazing, attitude-filled opener, while tracks like the cleverly written ‘F.T.W.’, ‘Devil Fruit’ and the trappy title track are also huge highlights. However, this whole album is pretty excellent, from front to back! It’s just over half an hour of great rap/nu metal, packed full of some great, angry lyrics and delivery, as well as some pretty catchy melodies, and of course the brutal riffing at times to tie it all together! It’s another album that isn’t for everyone, and will surely piss off most traditional metalheads. However, I really enjoyed it, giving off big vibes of FEVER 333 and Stray From the Path. This is an awesome album that I’ll definitely be spinning again a good few times in the next few months. A solid 8/10

Ashley Monroe: Tennessee Lightening

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our review of it here.

Attack Attack!: Attack Attack! II

The crabcore legends are back with their first new album in 13 years, and a sequel to their 2010 breakout release. The band have been putting out pretty regularly EPs since their reunion, but this is the first full length release from them since then, so the hype is rather large. I never quite ‘got’ it the first time round, but have since been able to go back and appreciate those three albums a lot, especially for a product of their time and how they influenced the scene. So, to finally have a full 30+ minute release from the band is awesome, and the fact that it’s also pretty decent just adds to that! It’s still silly, chug-heavy goodness, and honestly feels like they never left. And the breakdowns are still great now, despite them being much more the norm than they were back in 2010. The album certainly puts its best feet forward with the opener, insanely heavy, Ramos-featuring ‘Dance!’ and Electric Callboy-esque ‘Chainless’ all being incredible highlights. However, there really isn’t a bad song on the album. Heck, ‘i complain on r/metalcore’ is maybe the best song title of the year.

I think the overall perception of this sort of music has gotten a lot more positive in recent years, in large thanks to EC mentioned above, and this release really has the potential to be a massive, fantastic one this year. Heck, I didn’t come in with very high expectations, but came out having a LOT of fun listening to it, and will definitely be doing so a lot moving forward. It’s certainly silly, certainly heavy, and also catchy as anything and has some actual genuine emotional moments too. I can’t recommend this enough, especially those to have written them off for years. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but 9/10, this is awesome!

Bailey Zimmerman: Different Night Same Rodeo

The sophomore album from apparently one of the biggest names in country currently dropped on Friday. I know the name but honestly haven’t been really exposed to his music before now, so I’m curious to see what all the fuss is about! Strap yourselves in too, we’re going for the full 18-track, hour-long ride.

I get it. It is damn good! ‘Comin’ in Cold’ didn’t go where I expected but was still good, a neo-traditional/Americana-infused country banger with one hell of a chorus and fiddle solo. I also don’t know what a Diplo is, but his song ‘Ashes’ after the opener is good! Everything from ‘Lost’ through to ‘Everything But Up’ was also incredible. If we’d have had those 12 tracks, this album would be honestly perfect. However, the back end, those last four(!) songs, are a bit of a slog, mainly due to them all being slower when other tracks on the release have done it better. They aren’t bad per say, as aren’t tracks three and four, but there is definitely a little bit of filler alongside all the killer, and when the album would be a decent length without them, it really isn’t needed.

Overall though, this is a damn good country album! There’s some great pop ballads and some equally amazing boot stompin’ rocky numbers, with Bailey’s writing and incredible vocals fitting both perfectly. It’s easy to see why he’s a massive name, and this second album surely cements him as a mainstay at the top of the country world. He has a massive new fan in me, and I can’t give this any less than 9/10. A must for any country fan!

Lord of the Lost: OPVS NOIR Vol. 1

The goth metallers return with their first new album in nearly two years, an uncharacteristically long gap for the band in recent times. However, this is part one of an at least double-header, with the second volume expected to also drop by the end of the year, so we’ll let them off a little, at least! It also helps that it’s a damn awesome album, too! I know their last fully original one, Blood and Glitter, did amazingly well thanks to the title track being part of Eurovision, and we enjoyed it too, but this one hits different, and is arguably higher quality. It’s a little darker and heavier, the riffing being a surprisingly large highlight. It doesn’t quite have as massive a chorus/hit as the Eurovision banger, but there are so many highlight tracks through this, with there not being a bad song throughout. Also, while it has a lot of guest features like the BABYMETAL album, but they feel more like LotL tracks than equal-collaboration singles, and from Within Temptation to our friends Feuerschwanz, they’re all so good! If you are at all into the band, the genre or just the European metal style in general, I’d definitely recommend this album! It’s my favourite album from the band since Thornstar, and it’s made me very hyped for volume 2 already. It’s yet another damn solid 9/10 from me, and a pretty unexpected one at that!

Shape of Water: Petrichor

The Manchester art rock band have been gathering quite the momentum in the underground UK rock scene, and a lot of us have been impatiently waiting for the follow-up to 2022’s incredibly Amor Fati. It finally dropped this Friday and is everything I was hoping it would be! It’s completely different to anything else coming out, reminding me of a mix between Muse, Nine Inch Nails and Pulp, as well as plenty else I can’t put my finger on. Tracks like ‘Last Goodbye’, ‘NAKED’, ‘Letting You Go’ and ‘She Never Sleeps Alone’ are all massive personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad song on the release! It has a really fantastic flow to it, too, 40 minutes going by in a flash. The band are insanely talented, especially for a 2/3 piece! They’re another band that won’t be for everyone, but if you are at all curious they are well worth checking out, and this is everything as good as their previous release! 8.5/10

Jonas Brothers: Greetings From Your Hometown

While definitely not something we’d typically cover here at Overtone, my partner is a big fan of the trio and, having listened to the pre-release singles, they are kinda bangers. Hell, they were on Camp ROCK back in the day, so they count, right? It’s 45-minutes of great, catchy synth-pop-rock, just enough alternative to the very mainstream stuff to keep it interesting. It’s like middle part of Fall Out Boy’s career meets just a touch of Bruce Springsteen and a healthy dose of the likes of BOYS LIKE GIRLS. The brother’s vocals have always been a big highlight of their music, their harmonies being incredible. Songs like ‘Love Me to Heaven’, ‘Tables’ and ‘Waste No Time’ are all great and big personal highlights. Don’t get me wrong, it very much isn’t going to be for everyone here, and generally the album was a touch slow in the middle, but if you’re curious there’s enough here to have fun with! An easy 7/10!

As December Falls: Everything’s On Fire But I’m Fine

One of the biggest bands to come out of our local area in a while, the emo/alt rockers’ fourth album dropped to much hype today! Said hype is more than warranted too, this thing is fucking awesome! Right from the opener/title track to singles ‘Bathroom Floor’ and ‘Therapy’ to the incredible closer, it’s all amazing. And it’s essentially an EP, being only 19 minutes across seven songs. It does, however, mean that it’s all killer and absolutely no filler. It’s a fantastic modern sound and if anyone’s into pop-punk, alt rock or mid 2000s emo, I can’t recommend checking this out enough! It’s very Hot Milk, early Paramore, Avril Lavigne and All Time Low, in the best way! They are on the quick up-and-up anyway, and this release definitely continues their momentum in the best way possible. I’m gonna be listening to this a lot moving forward, and it’s up there with some of their best stuff, for sure! Another incredibly solid 9/10